It may seem strange to post information about questioning and engagement together since they are both very important topics and could easily deserve to have their own pages. However, I believe that the two walk hand in hand in the classroom. If students aren't challenged with interesting and important questions, their engagement level is very low.
Every student teaching supervisor has said, "Make sure to ask good questions that when students answer, you are learning about what they understand and/or misunderstand. Compose your questions when you are writing your lesson plans" I'm not sure how seriously student teachers take this advice but it becomes increasingly valued as you get into your own classroom and become responsible for the learning of the students in your care.
It is an art to come up with questions that do what they are supposed to and engage students in meaningful conversations. It takes a lot of work at the beginning of a teacher's career but if you take questioning seriously and are willing to work on crafting questions, it pays off big time (student interest, classroom management, student achievement) and comes easier later in your career. Students will become more engaged in what they are learning. You will feel like you're making a difference in your classroom, and you will have a better understanding of what students have learned and need more help learning. This is also important when writing tests or questions for student learning systems (questions with clickers, polls, etc).
After reading this review, you might want to pick up the book, High Impact Instruction: A Framework for Great Teaching by Jim Knight - Review by Julie Dermody - http://www.middleweb.com/6094/the-educators-bible/#
Phil Schlechty talks about the importance of engaging work for students and defines "engagement" (be warned: this is not very engaging!) - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbKbhMdn6DU
Charlotte Danielson Framework for Teaching domains and components of instruction. Danielson explains that in the Framework for Teaching, the complex activity of teaching is divided into 22 components clustered into four domains of teaching responsibility:
Every student teaching supervisor has said, "Make sure to ask good questions that when students answer, you are learning about what they understand and/or misunderstand. Compose your questions when you are writing your lesson plans" I'm not sure how seriously student teachers take this advice but it becomes increasingly valued as you get into your own classroom and become responsible for the learning of the students in your care.
It is an art to come up with questions that do what they are supposed to and engage students in meaningful conversations. It takes a lot of work at the beginning of a teacher's career but if you take questioning seriously and are willing to work on crafting questions, it pays off big time (student interest, classroom management, student achievement) and comes easier later in your career. Students will become more engaged in what they are learning. You will feel like you're making a difference in your classroom, and you will have a better understanding of what students have learned and need more help learning. This is also important when writing tests or questions for student learning systems (questions with clickers, polls, etc).
Resources:
http://smartboardsmarty.wikispaces.com/Extreme+Collaboration+with+Notebook+11
- Planning and Preparation (Domain 1)
- Classroom Environment (Domain 2)
- Instruction (Domain 3)
- Professional Responsibilities (Domain 4)
- http://www.sde.idaho.gov/site/teacherEval/framework.htm